Aiming to radically clear the path for reelection, Sadiq Khan announced on Friday that most bus and Tube tickets would be frozen.
In March of the following year, the mayor said that pay-as-you-go tickets, which make up over 80% of Tube trips and 74% of bus trips, will not change.
As the government chose to raise national rail fares by 4.9% in March, it was anticipated that they would also increase in tandem.
Accordingly, the price of a London bus ticket will stay at £1.75, while the price of a single adult tube ticket for zones 1-3 will stay at £3.70 during peak hours and £3 during off-peak and weekend periods.
Most pay-as-you-go fares on the Elizabeth line and on the London Overground will also be unchanged.
However the cost of a Travelcard – which allows unlimited train, Tube and bus travel within specified areas – will rise between 4.6 per cent and 5.1 per cent depending on the zones selected.
This means a zones 1-4 Travelcard will rise from £15.20 to £15.90 while a zones 1-6 Travelcard rises from £21.50 to £22.60 for peak travel and from £15.20 to £15.90 for off-peak travel.
The Day Travelcard for passengers outside London will rise by an additional three per cent as part of the package to save it from the axe.
The price of Travelcards is negotiated with the rail operators; therefore, the mayor cannot unilaterally freeze prices.
Furthermore, the daily and weekly “cap” on the total amount paid by travellers who take many pay-as-you-go trips will increase by 4.1% to 5.1%, which means that even with the prices freeze, many travellers will still end up paying more overall.
There will be an increase in the daily cap on journeys inside zones 1-2 from £8.10 to £8.50, in zones 1-3 from £9.60 to £10, in zones 1-4 from £11.70 to £12.30, and in zones 1-6 from £14.90 to £15.60.
In an effort to strengthen the deterrent effect of the fare evasion penalty and recover a larger portion of the £130 million that Transport for London loses annually as a result of nonpayment, Mr Khan will also raise the penalty from £80 to £100.
He anticipates that it will help the capital’s retail, hospitality, and cultural sectors, as well as ease the crisis caused by rising living expenses and encourage more people to take public transport.
It comes after he declared that, should he be elected to a third term as mayor in May, free school lunches would be provided to all students enrolled in London’s elementary schools for a second year.
However, it will be followed by an increase in his council tax portion of 8.6%, meaning that the average household’s costs will increase by £37.